Alibaba Singles' Day sales hit $10 billion in first hour

It has already discounted the speaker again, in advance of this year's annual shopping event held on November 11. The holiday originally didn't have much to do with shopping.

This year, the company surpassed last year's full-day sales record of 168 billion yuan in just under sixteen hours.

The shopping frenzy has broken world records in e-commerce sales - surpassing last year's record at 17:34 Hong Kong Time (10:34 GMT). "Steep discounts on the Tmall Genie smart speaker during Singles' Day previous year, as well as the introduction of lower-priced mini versions of several smart speakers in early 2018, were key in accelerating growth".

But surely Singles' Day can't be bigger than Black Friday, right?

Alibaba kicked off this year's sales with a gala event that featured USA singer Mariah Carey, a Japanese Beyonce impersonator and a Cirque du Soleil performance.

But Ma parlayed that into the world's biggest shopping day by encouraging consumers to treat themselves to heavily discounted sneakers, mattresses and Gucci bags.

The November sale event is expected to founder Jack Ma's last at the helm of the company.

Also known as Double 11, the shopping extravaganza will draw to a close at midnight.

While both Alibaba and competitor JD.com have pledged to use biodegradable packaging to cut down on waste, research conducted this month by Greenpeace East Asia said many plastics marked "biodegradable" and used by Chinese e-retailers can only break down under high temperatures in facilities that are limited in number across the country.

Alibaba has also faced new challenges this year, such as new rivals in the market, a slowing economy and its stock dropping 16% thanks to China's trade war with the US.

To compensate, the company will take in less commission from its platforms in the near term in order to retain brands and attract new buyers, it said.

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